Tmesis

By Deane Barker

This is generally when another word is inserted in between the two segments of a compound word, usually as slang or exclamation.

Example: “un-freaking-believable”

There is a more technical definition, when the subject is inserted into a verb phrase: “turn off” becomes “turn the radio off”

Why I Looked It Up

I found it in a discussion of interactive fiction in Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature.

Links from this – Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature November 3, 2023
I’ve become interested in interactive fiction lately. I found an article about ergodic fiction, and when I defined that word, I found this book, in which the concept was apparently coined. It’s called Cybertext because the word cyber comes from a prefix refering to the control of systems. This in...